Marking the 90th Radio 4 Christmas Appeal with St Martin in-the-Fields

The 90th Radio 4 Christmas Appeal with St Martin in-the-Fields launched on Sunday 4 December. To find out more and donate visit the Radio 4 Christmas Appeal or call 0800 082 82 84. Thank you for all your support over the years.

The neoclassical Church of St Martin-in-the-Fields at the corner of Trafalgar Square has a long history as a place of refuge. During the First World War the charismatic and maverick vicar, Dick Sheppard, threw open the doors to soldiers departing for the front from Charing Cross Station nearby.

"He created the tradition of the church of the ever-open door" says the Revd Dr Sam Wells, the current vicar of St Martin’s "and from that time forward people have come to St Martin’s with the expectation that even if they are desperate and destitute there’s a place here for them."

After the war Dick Sheppard’s appeals from the pulpit to his congregation to donate to those less fortunate became formalised and appeared in the Radio Times as the BBC Christmas Appeal in 1927.

So this year marks the 90th Radio 4 Christmas Appeal with St Martin in-the-Fields.

The money raised by donations to the appeal is shared between The Connection, the night shelter and day centre next to the church in Trafalgar Square, and the Vicar’s Relief Fund which gives crisis grants to applicants around the country who are homeless or who are in danger of losing their homes.

Tony is a painter and decorator from Wrexham who now has somewhere safe to live for the first time in 5 years, thanks to a grant for £340 from the Vicar's Relief Fund which paid for a month’s rent in advance to secure his tenancy. Even though he thinks he could do a better job on the decoration, he is very relieved to have found a home:

"I couldn’t believe it. I was in a dream. I had to keep pinching myself! To be back in a house, not have the elements on you, to actually be able to sit down and have a cup of tea, it was just brilliant."

Government figures show that between autumn 2014 and autumn 2015 homelessness went up in England by nearly 30%.

Of the continuing Radio 4 Christmas Appeal Sam Wells says "This year is the 90th year. That’s an incredible record of partnership. It’s a story of wisdom and experience and friendship over 90 years. There’s a sad part of that, because it suggests that unfortunately homelessness is a problem that’s not going to go away. What I’m celebrating after 90 years is a gathering together of people who – together - have had an amazing record of making a real difference."

The 90th Radio 4 Christmas Appeal with St Martin in-the-Fields starts on Sunday 4 December. For more information or to make a donation visit the Radio 4 Christmas Appeal.

• Donate online to the Radio 4 Christmas Appeal

• To donate by phone call 0800 082 82 84

• Find out more about The Connection

• Find out more about the Vicar's Relief Fund